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priest? He is an Angel of the Lord. For does he say his own things? If you despise him, you do not despise him, but God who ordained him. And how is it clear that God ordained him, he says? Therefore, if you do not have this conviction, your hope is made void. For if God works nothing through him, you have neither baptism, nor do you partake of the mysteries, nor do you enjoy the blessings; you are therefore not a Christian. 3. What then? he says; does God ordain all, even the unworthy? God does not ordain all, but He Himself works through all, even if they be unworthy, for the salvation of the people. For if for the sake of the people He spoke through a donkey, and through Balaam, through a defiled man, much more through the priest. For what does God not do for the sake of our salvation? For what does he not utter? through whom does he not work? If He worked through Judas, and through those who prophesied, to whom he says, I never knew you; depart from me, you who work iniquity, and others cast out demons; much more will He work through the priests. Since if we were to scrutinize the lives of the rulers, we ourselves would become the ordainers of the teachers, and things would be turned upside down, the feet above, and the head below. Hear Paul saying: But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you, or by man's judgment; and again, Why do you judge your brother? If one must not judge a brother, much more a teacher. For if God commanded this, you do well, and you sin by not doing it; but if the contrary, do not dare, nor attempt to leap over the bounds. Against Aaron after the making of the calf rose up those with Korah and Dathan and Abiram; what then? did they not perish? Let each one be concerned for his own affairs. For if he holds a perverted doctrine, even if he be an angel, do not obey; but if he teaches rightly, pay no attention to his life, but to his words. You have Paul, both by deeds and by words, setting you in order toward what is fitting. But he does not give to the poor, he says, nor manage well. How is this clear to you? Before you learn, do not find fault; fear the accountings. Many things are judged from suspicion. Imitate your Master; hear him saying, I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it; and if not, I will know. But if you have learned and examined and seen, wait for the judge; do not usurp Christ's office; it is for Him to examine these things, not for you; you are a lowly servant, not a master; you are a sheep; therefore, do not be overly curious about the shepherd, lest you also be held to account for those things of which you accuse him. And how does he speak to me, he says, when he himself does not do it? He is not the one speaking to you; if you obey him, you have no reward; Christ is exhorting these things to you. And what am I saying? one must not even obey Paul, if he says anything of his own, anything human, but the apostle who has 62.611 Christ speaking in him. Let us not judge one another's affairs, but each his own; examine your life. But he ought to be better than me, he says. Why? Because he is a priest. And what more does he not have than you? Does he not have the toils? Does he not have the dangers? Does he not have the agony? Does he not have the hardship? Having these things then, how is he not better than you? But if he is not better, are you obliged, tell me, to destroy yourself? These words are of madness. For how do you know that he is not better than you? If he steals, he says, and commits sacrilege. How do you know, O man? why do you push yourself off a cliff? And you, if someone should say that so-and-so has the purple, even if you know it, you block your ears, and even if you are able to prove it, you immediately jump away and pretend not to know, not wanting to take on an unnecessary danger; but here you not only do not jump away, but you even take on an unnecessary danger. These words are not without accountability; for hear Christ saying, But I say to you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. But on the whole, do you think you are better than someone, and you do not groan, nor beat your

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ἱερεύς; Ἄγγελος Κυρίου ἐστί. Μὴ γὰρ τὰ ἑαυτοῦ λέγει; Εἰ καταφρονεῖς αὐτοῦ, οὐκ αὐτοῦ καταφρονεῖς, ἀλλὰ τοῦ χειροτονήσαντος αὐτὸν Θεοῦ. Καὶ πόθεν δῆλον ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς ἐχειροτόνησεν αὐτὸν, φησίν; Οὐκοῦν, εἰ μὴ ταύτην ἔχεις τὴν ὑπόληψιν, ἡ ἐλπίς σου κεκένωται. Εἰ γὰρ μηδὲν ἐνεργεῖ ὁ Θεὸς δι' αὐτοῦ, οὔτε λουτρὸν ἔχεις, οὔτε μυστηρίων μετέχεις, οὔτε εὐλογιῶν ἀπολαύεις· οὐκ ἄρα Χριστιανὸς εἶ. γʹ. Τί οὖν; φησί· πάντας ὁ Θεὸς χειροτονεῖ, καὶ τοὺς ἀναξίους; Πάντας μὲν ὁ Θεὸς οὐ χειροτονεῖ, διὰ πάντων δὲ αὐτὸς ἐνεργεῖ, εἰ καὶ αὐτοὶ εἶεν ἀνάξιοι, διὰ τὸ σωθῆναι τὸν λαόν. Εἰ γὰρ δι' ὄνου, καὶ διὰ Βαλαὰμ, διὰ μιαροῦ ἀνθρώπου, τοῦ λαοῦ ἕνεκεν ἐλάλησε, πολλῷ μᾶλλον διὰ τοῦ ἱερέως. Τί γὰρ οὐ ποιεῖ ὁ Θεὸς τῆς σωτηρίας ἕνεκεν τῆς ἡμετέρας; Τί γὰρ οὐ φθέγγεται; διὰ τίνος δὲ οὐκ ἐνεργεῖ; Εἰ διὰ τοῦ Ἰούδα ἐνέργησε, καὶ διὰ τῶν προφητευόντων, οἷς φησιν, Οὐκ οἶδα ὑμᾶς, ἀποχωρεῖτε ἀπ' ἐμοῦ οἱ ἐργαζόμενοι τὴν ἀνομίαν, καὶ ἄλλοι δαίμονας ἐξέβαλον· πολλῷ μᾶλλον διὰ τῶν ἱερέων ἐνεργήσει. Ἐπεὶ εἰ μέλλοιμεν τοὺς βίους ἐρευνᾷν τῶν ἀρχόντων, αὐτοὶ μέλλομεν εἶναι χειροτονηταὶ τῶν διδασκάλων, καὶ τὰ ἄνω κάτω γίνεται, ἄνω οἱ πόδες, καὶ κάτω ἡ κεφαλή. Ἄκουε Παύλου λέγοντος· Ἐμοὶ δὲ εἰς ἐλάχιστόν ἐστιν, ἵνα ὑφ' ὑμῶν ἀνακριθῶ, ἢ ὑπὸ ἀνθρωπίνης ἡμέρας· καὶ πάλιν, Σὺ τί κρίνεις τὸν ἀδελφόν σου; Εἰ τὸν ἀδελφὸν οὐ δεῖ κρίνειν, πολλῷ μᾶλλον τὸν διδάσκαλον. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ τοῦτο ἐπέταξεν ὁ Θεὸς, καλῶς ποιεῖς, καὶ ἁμαρτάνεις μὴ ποιῶν· εἰ δὲ τοὐναντίον, μὴ τόλμα, μηδὲ ὑπὲρ τὰ ἐσκαμμένα ἐπιχείρει. Τῷ Ἀαρὼν μετὰ τὴν μοσχοποιίαν ἐπανέστησαν οἱ περὶ Κορὲ καὶ ∆αθὰν καὶ Ἀβειρών· τί οὖν; οὐκ ἀπώλοντο; Ἕκαστος τὰ ἑαυτοῦ μεριμνάτω. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ δόγμα ἔχει διεστραμμένον, κἂν ἄγγελος ᾖ, μὴ πείθου· εἰ δὲ ὀρθὰ διδάσκει, μὴ τῷ βίῳ πρόσεχε, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ῥήμασιν. Ἔχεις Παῦλον καὶ δι' ἔργων καὶ διὰ λόγων ῥυθμίζοντά σε πρὸς τὸ δέον. Ἀλλ' οὐ δίδωσι πένησι, φησὶν, οὐδὲ καλῶς διοικεῖ. Πόθεν σοι τοῦτο δῆλον; Πρὶν ἢ μάθῃς, μὴ μέμψῃ, φοβήθητι τὰς εὐθύνας. Πολλὰ ἀπὸ ὑπονοίας κρίνεται. Μίμησαί σου τὸν ∆εσπότην· ἄκουε αὐτοῦ λέγοντος· Καταβὰς ὄψομαι εἰ κατὰ τὴν κραυγὴν αὐτῶν συντελοῦνται· εἰ δὲ μὴ, ἵνα γνῶ. Εἰ δὲ κατέμαθες καὶ ἐξήτασας καὶ εἶδες, ἀνάμενε τὸν κριτήν· μὴ προαρπάσῃς τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὴν τάξιν· ἐκείνου ταῦτά ἐστιν ἐξετάζειν, οὐ σοῦ· σὺ δοῦλος εἶ ἔσχατος, οὐ δεσπότης· σὺ πρόβατον εἶ· μὴ τοίνυν περιεργάζου τὸν ποιμένα, ἵνα μὴ καὶ ἐφ' οἷς ἐκείνου κατηγορεῖς, εὐθύνας δῷς. Καὶ πῶς ἐμοὶ λέγει, φησὶν, αὐτὸς οὐ ποιῶν; Οὐκ αὐτός σοι λέγει· εἰ αὐτῷ πείθῃ, μισθὸν οὐκ ἔχεις· ὁ Χριστός σοι ταῦτα παραινεῖ. Καὶ τί λέγω; οὐδὲ Παύλῳ πείθεσθαι χρὴ, ἄν τι ἴδιον λέγῃ, ἄν τι ἀνθρώπινον, ἀλλὰ τῷ ἀποστόλῳ τῷ 62.611 τὸν Χριστὸν ἔχοντι λαλοῦντα ἐν ἑαυτῷ. Μὴ κρίνωμεν τὰ ἀλλήλων, ἀλλὰ τὰ ἑαυτοῦ ἕκαστος· ἐξέτασον σοῦ τὸν βίον. Ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνος ὀφείλει μου βελτίων εἶναι, φησί. ∆ιὰ τί; Ὅτι ἱερεύς ἐστι. Καὶ τί σου πλέον οὐκ ἔχει; οὐχὶ τοὺς μόχθους; οὐχὶ τοὺς κινδύνους; οὐχὶ τὴν ἀγωνίαν; οὐχὶ τὴν ταλαιπωρίαν; Ταῦτα τοίνυν ἔχων πῶς οὐ βελτίων ἐστί σου; Εἰ δὲ οὐκ ἔστι βελτίων, ἆρα ὀφείλεις, εἰπέ μοι, σὺ σαυτὸν ἀπολλύναι; Ἀπονοίας ταῦτα τὰ ῥήματα. Πόθεν γὰρ, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι σου βελτίων; Ἐὰν κλέπτῃ, φησὶ, καὶ ἱεροσυλῇ. Πόθεν οἶδας, ἄνθρωπε; τί κατὰ κρημνῶν ὠθεῖς σαυτόν; Καὶ σὺ μὲν, ἂν εἴπῃ τις, ὅτι ὁ δεῖνα πορφύραν ἔχει, κἂν εἰδὼς ᾖς, ἀποφράττεις τὰ ὦτα, κἂν ἐλέγξαι δυνάμενος ᾖς, ἀποπηδᾷς εὐθέως καὶ προσποιῇ μὴ εἰδέναι, περιττὸν κίνδυνον μὴ θέλων ἀναδέξασθαι· ἐνταῦθα δὲ οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἀποπηδᾷς, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀναδέχῃ περιττὸν κίνδυνον. Ταῦτα τὰ ῥήματα οὐκ ἔστιν ἀνεύθυνα· ἄκουε γὰρ τοῦ Χριστοῦ λέγοντος, Λέγω δὲ ὑμῖν, ὅτι πᾶν ῥῆμα ἀργὸν, ὃ ἐὰν λαλήσωσιν οἱ ἄνθρωποι, δώσουσι περὶ αὐτοῦ λόγον ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως. Ὅλως δὲ, οἴει τινὸς βελτίων εἶναι, καὶ οὐ στενάζεις, οὐδὲ κόπτεις τὸ